Ex-Patriots (46 page)

Toni’s heels clicked on the floor. “Some
view, isn’t it?”

“It’s amazing.” He leaned his head close to
the glass. Off to the left stood the tall, white letters of the
Hollywood sign.

She stepped through the open doorway to the
left and into the kitchen. The counter was decorated with white and
blue tiles in a pattern that could almost pass for a checkerboard.
The linoleum on the floor mimicked the counter. “The apartment
comes with a fridge,” she said. “Laundry room is in the basement.
There’s a sun deck up on the roof. We start with a six month lease
but it goes month to month after that. Once you pass a credit check
we’d need first and last month’s rent.”

He walked over to the kitchen and tried to
play it cool. He opened a few cabinets focused on the countertop so
he wouldn’t risk stupidity in the light of her smile. “And the rent
is how much?” he asked. “The guy I talked with said it was on the
cheaper side.”

“Well, I’m afraid we just had an increase,”
she said, “so it’s not as cheap as it used to be.”

Nate looked back at the studio and pictured
all his furniture lined up along one wall. “That’s understandable,”
he said. “So how much is it?”

“Five-sixty-five,” she said. “That includes
utilities.”

“Which ones?”

“All of them.”

He risked looking at the smile. “Five hundred
and sixty-five dollars total?”

“Yes,” she said. “Are you interested?”

“Fuck, yes,” he said. “Pardon my French.”

Toni’s smile wavered for a moment, and he
realized a real smile had pushed through the practiced one. “Don’t
worry about it,” she said. “I’ve been know to swear like a sailor
when things don’t go my way.”

A business card and pen appeared from her
pocket. She used the back of the iPad as a desk and scribbled
something on the card. “Go to our website and log on with this
code,” she said. “The whole application’s online. Do it tonight and
we can process the credit check on Monday. This time next week,
this could be your place.” She held out the card.

“That’s great,” he said. “Credit check
shouldn’t be any trouble.”

“Fantastic,” she said. “I’ll give you a call
next week and—” Her smile cracked and started to crumble. She
stepped back and caught it just in time.

A cockroach had appeared on the counter. It
wasn’t one of the huge ones Nate saw sometimes at night out on the
sidewalks, but it was big enough—half the size of his thumb. Its
antennae wiggled as it followed a zigzag path across the
counter.

“I’m so sorry,” Toni said. She glanced at her
iPad again. “We have an exterminator in every other month, but it’s
impossible to wipe them out, you know?”

The insect paused in a shaft of sunlight to
give them a look and Nate got a good look back. Then it pressed
itself behind the plate for an outlet and was gone. He knotted his
brows. “Was that cockroach bright green?”

Toni shrugged and her smile reasserted
itself. “Maybe? It’s an old building. You have to expect some
weirdness, y’know?”